Why understanding the natural sinks and sources of CO2 is important: A policy analysis perspective

The mechanisms that regulate the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the carbon cycle, is an integral part of the analysis of the greenhouse issue. The present understanding of the carbon cycle is inadequate to the purpose of assessing the relationship between future anthropogenic emissions and concentrations of atmospheric CO₂. The most important problem is that natural science cannot presently explain the relationship between present and past anthropogenetic emissions and concentrations. Sinks for CO₂ are inadequate to explain present and past dispositions of emissions. This deficiency in scientific understanding leads to uncertainty in the analysis of potential future emissions and atmospheric CO₂ accumulation, and to uncertainty in the specification of other policy analysis instruments such as global warming potential coefficients.